From the Grateful Dead to the Dead Kennedys, the Bay Area music scene was tough to beat in terms of eclecticism and inspiration in the 1980s. The region not only served as a launchpad for Top 40 acts like Journey, Huey Lewis and the News and Starship, but local underground punk and metal heroes made ripples worldwide. Browse through our gallery of the artists making noise around here during the John Hughes era and add your favorites in the comments. Who were your favorites? Who did we forget?

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In case you missed it, here’s our gallery of Bay Area bands of the ’90s.